Our Story

It all started with a boy and a girl.

Papa Nick's in 1990

Jerry and Lila Nikla founded The Original Papa Nick's in Miami in 1970. They moved here to Mars Hill, NC in 1988 to retire and fell in love with the mountains and people. Jerry and Lila opened a new Papa Nicks in 1991 and it was immediately a big hit with the locals and tourists alike. Due to Jerry's health, Papa Nick's closed in 1998. After a few years we realized Mars Hill needed a place to get quality fresh made pizza and Jerry and Lila's daughter Debi opened a take out version of Papa Nicks in 2002 with pizza in mind mostly. She quickly evolved her menu and has since added lots of amazing Italian dishes, hot subs, calzones and salads as well. In 2014 the space next door to the take out restaurant became available so now Papa Nick's has a dining room and full kitchen. Debi has not changed one single thing about her father's recipes from the pizza dough to the marinara and of course the garlic rolls he was so famous for. Our customers are like family to us and we make every dish with that in mind. Come out and see for yourself, have a seat in a our dining room or grab some take out and sit on the deck. See you soon!